Friday, October 9, 2015

* South America: World Cup qualifiers in South America began yesterday with noteworthy matches including Ecuador shocking Argentina in Buenos Aires and Copa America titleholders Chile beating Brazil.

* Brazil: Nine police officers allegedly avenging the shooting of an off-duty cop were arrested and charged with killing nineteen people on August 13th near Sao Paulo.

* Mexico: Mayor Enrique Serrano of Ciudad Júarez has called on a boycott of the hit film Sicario since it “speaks badly of the city.”

* Venezuela: Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez accused the Guyanese government of “misleading the international community” over a heated territorial dispute between the neighboring countries.

YouTube Source – Futbolpasionmundial3 (Patricio Javier Diaz of La Red Ecuador radio provided emotional play-by-play of Ecuador’s two goals in their upset over Argentina on Thursday).

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

* Latin America: A record 693 people in Brazil have died in 2015 due to dengue, while fatalities related to the disease have increased by 78% so far this year in the Dominican Republic.

* Cuba: U.S. commerce secretary Penny Pritzker traveled to Cuba as part of the effort to normalize economic relations between the two countries.

* Brazil: Organizers of next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro plan to cut about 10% in operating costs for the competition though spending for “building venues, subway lines and highways to help stage the games” will be untouched.

* Colombia: Attorney General Eduardo Montealegre has called for a preliminary investigation into former president turned senator Alvaro Uribe’s possible role in a 1997 massacre.

Monday, October 5, 2015

* Brazil: The Supreme Court gave police permission to question ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as a witness regarding a major bribery scandal at Petrobras that has implicated members of the Brazil’s political and business elite.

* Colombia: In a span of less than a week, Colombian law enforcement killed two of the country's most dangerous drug capos known by the aliases of Pijarvey and Megateo.

* Nicaragua: Could delays arise in the construction of a new interoceanic canal after one of the project's main investors, Chinese telecom magnate Wang Jing, lost 85% of his assets so far this year?